Skip to main content

Taiwan bureau threatens Kuo Teng over its Kinmen Bridge work

Taiwan’s National Expressway Engineering Bureau said it would terminate its contract with Kuo Teng Construction company because of issues over the construction schedule of Kinmen Bridge. Work on the bridge connecting the main island of Greater Kinmen and Lieyu, also known as Little Kinmen, began in 2013 after it had been a campaign promise in five presidential elections. The bureau recently said that work on the bridge was nearly 19% behind schedule and reportedly gave the company 30 days to bring the pro
June 2, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Taiwan’s National Expressway Engineering Bureau said it would terminate its contract with Kuo Teng Construction company because of issues over the construction schedule of Kinmen Bridge.

Work on the bridge connecting the main island of Greater Kinmen and Lieyu, also known as Little Kinmen, began in 2013 after it had been a campaign promise in five presidential elections.

The bureau recently said that work on the bridge was nearly 19% behind schedule and reportedly gave the company 30 days to bring the project back on schedule.

The Taipei Times reported that it could lead to a change of contractor for a third time.

Kuo Teng Construction has also been told to increase the number of workers, speed up material delivery to the site and to use more efficient equipment.

“The contractor failed to bring in partners that were equipped with better machinery for the project, even though it was facing a shortage of workers and construction materials and clearly lacks the ability to handle the project on its own,” the bureau said in a statement. “The contractor had fallen behind the construction schedule by 16%...which shows that it has neither the ambition nor the determination to expedite the progress of the work.”

The Times also reported that the bureau had informed Kuo Teng Construction in February that delays to the bridge’s construction meant the firm was barred from bidding for government projects for one year.

Public construction commission minister Wu Hong-mo was reported saying most government agencies prefer to choose the bidders that offer the cheapest packages, fearing criticism that otherwise they would be wasting taxpayers’ money.

Wu said his top priority is to make sure government workers are not afraid to hire firms that present the most comprehensive bids, adding that the commission would lay out the types of projects to which this bidding method applies.

Related Content

  • Papua New Guinea mends its bridges
    February 28, 2022
    Under the latest tranche of the Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Programme, 45 of the estimated 71 bridges will be completely replaced.
  • Mozambique: Maputo cancels Britalar’s Julius Nyerere Avenue deal
    January 14, 2015
    A consortium led by Portuguese contractor Britalar has been sacked from a controversial contract to rehabilitate a prestigious thoroughfare in the Mozambique capital Maputo. The council is seeking repayment of US$1 million from the consortium that includes two other Portuguese companies, Construção Europa Ar-Lindo and Aurélio Martins Sobreiro e Filhos. Media reports also say a Chinese firm has been handed the contract to finish the work that was started in February 2013 under a deal worth $12.5 millio
  • Further delays expected for the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link
    August 26, 2015
    Further delays to the planned Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Germany and Denmark appear likely because of objections to the project during the planning stages, Danish media reported. Government authorities in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein indicated that permission for the project, which focusses on a 17km immersed road and rail tunnel, will probably be given in 2017, and not next year as previously believed. German authorities have received about 3,100 objections to the project that has rise
  • Australia roads alliance
    April 16, 2012
    A huge infrastructure programme is being planned at present for the Australian state of Queensland With an annual growth rate of around 3.2%, Queensland is the fastest growing state in Australia and has been for over a decade. The State attracts an average of 1,500 new permanent residents each week, 1,000 of whom move to the South East corner.